Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
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60 Fresh Cup Magazine | freshcup.com GOING PRO years-and-counting story demon- strates the growing opportunities in the coffee industry; she's built a meaningful life that she happily admits to still be evaluating as she moves into her forties. While Phuong's list of creden- tials span the full range (licensed Q Grader, SCAA lead instructor for skill-building workshops and BGA Certification Courses, USBG head judge, and member of the executive council of the BGA), she has a simple take on achieving success in the cof- fee industry: "It's tough sometimes, but I think if you focus on what you really want, you can find a way to make it happen for you. There are so many opportunities in the industry." The predominant expression on her face is hope, and it's contagious. Take baby steps in a new direction, she advises, and definitely go to all those free cuppings. et's return to my friend in Kansas City. "Others have asked why don't I do consult- ing? Because I have nothing sparkly associated with my name," he says. The truth is it can be a hard industry for introverts, for eccentrics, for mystics, for misfits. (Which, let's be honest, we all are in one way or another.) Taking chances, failing and recovering, embracing change? It doesn't come easy. Crawling out of our shells and engaging with other coffee professionals who might think we're idiots? Breathtakingly difficult for many. Learning new skills, trying new things? Essential. With the spread of specialty cof- fee and the proliferation of online social networks, with increased ease of travel and non-stop consumer demand, the coffee industr y is mor- phing at warp speed. There is always another step to take, another skill to learn. From the green side there's importing, grading, quality control, sample roasting and cupping, or going even farther down the chain, working at farms, mills, co-ops, and in logistics. The brown side includes roasting, barista work, competi- tions, training, consumer education in a wide range of businesses, and even (as for this barista-turned- wordsmith) writing, marketing, and coffee event planning. Few of us can pretend to actually stay current with it all; few of us can keep our heads above the waves. Accepting that, few of us can afford to rest on our laurels and remain stagnant while the indus- tr y passes us by. The good news is that there really is more and more room in our trade for well-intentioned and passion- ate baristas to build a coffee career. Phuong says, "You have to decide what you really love, and figure out how to make that work, one step at a time. Everyone has ups or downs, per- sonal or business, but things can turn around—they certainly have for me." Coffee. The connections we make through it. Work that brings satis- faction, curiosity, and fulfillment. These are our common goals. There's no Royal Road, which is good news. We're in this together, a spider web of widely disparate individuals bound together by a single passion. Barista? Yes, but not only: Coffee professional. C O R Y E L D R I D G E "It's tough sometimes, but I think if you focus on what you really want, you can find a way to make it happen for you." —Phuong Tran, Lava Java L May14_magazine.indd 60 4/18/14 10:45 AM